Halo: Dead Space
by Mediumcool2000
Summary: Spartan A-259 Carter, wakes up in a hospital ship to face a new threat against the UNSC.  Along with fellow survivor Issac Clarke, will they escape the oncoming Necromorph assault?
1. Reveille

A slow dull pain crept over his body. He felt as if his muscles had been in a vise lock as Carter's eyes slowly opened to not a battle field but dull, grey ceiling. The flat, monotone warning beep continued without pause but other sounds began to come to him as well. Metal moving. Feet shuffling. Most importantly he heard voices. A mass of voices. Was he dead? Was he captured? What happened to Noble?

He turned to his left to get a better look at the source of the sounds to see a mass of doctors surrounding someone on a bed. It looked as if they were frantically trying to save the patient's life although Carter couldn't see the patient.

Carter saw an armed marine approach the group of doctors that led to more yelling Carter couldn't make out. He wondered what a marine was doing in the med bay when he saw an elongated pale arm pop out from the bed.

It was followed by an inhuman howl as the medical staff scattered quickly. Although his view of what was going was blocked by the escaping hospital staff, he knew the sounds all too well. The crack of an assault rifle. The barking of commands. His instinct was to call out orders but when he tried, he found his throat ungodly sore.

Finally he could get a clear view he couldn't believe what he saw. The marine was firing on something that resembled a human form but it was too tall and lanky as if it's body was stretched out. Its limbs were too long and although he couldn't clearly see it. Carter wasn't sure but he could see red welted sores all over its body as it held what looked like blades in its hands.

The thing charged forward towards the marine but a flash of energy swords cut off both of it's limbs, causing the creature to collapse after a final death cry. Carter couldn't believe his eyes as he saw an Elite standing with duel energy swords next to the marine. He stood up in bed to rush attack the Elite but fell back into bed feeling dizzy and sick. Pain spread throughout his body before he passed out once more.


	2. Intensive Care

Carter awoke this time once again to a dull grey ceiling and a slow churn of questions in his mind.

What was the thing in the bed? Did he really see an Elite on board? Where was he? What happened to Noble team and the mission? Kat…

Taking careful consideration this time, Carter very slowly sat up in bed and surveyed the room. He was among a dozen other patients all in various states of severe injuries from missing limbs to severe burns. All of them hooked up to machines to varying degrees. Carter looked down to see he was dressed in a hospital gown.

"Hello?" he managed to croak out

His throat was still sore and throbbed numbly. He grimaced visibly as he called out again. Looking towards the sound of rushing footsteps, he saw a group of what he could assume was nurses and doctors. Carter couldn't tell the job differences between any of them as they checked the machines around him.

"Take it easy Spartan. You've been through a lot." Said a woman with curly wheat colored hair and a thick British accent. She coaxed him to lying back down. "You're on the UNSC _Mercy_. I'm Dr. Miranda Turner."

"Doctor, I need to…"

"Everything will be explained to you Commander. For now let us do our job." she said cutting him off.

Carter felt the bed move to an upright position

"What happened to my team? Noble team. We were on a mission for Dr. Halsey on Reach. I need to know their status. Are they alive? Did we complete the mission?"

"Again Commander, everything will be explained to you shortly."

"I need…"

"First please answer my questions. The faster we get through this the faster you can get to your answers."

Carter relented as he anxiously closed his mouth and waited. Soon enough they were finished as they most of the staff left while another man dressed in a black outfit came over.

"Morning Spartan. Good to see you awake. My name is Captain Walter Huang." He said

"Captain. Could you please tell me full sit rep. I need to know everything that's happened. Where is my team? Are Emile and Six alive?"

The Captain anxious look over at Doctor Turner was all the answer Carter needed.

"Damn it." He said softly. "The mission?"

"It was a success. The package was delivered."

Carter nodded his approval that the sacrifices made weren't in vain although the loss of the entire team pained him.

"So what's the status? Is there a rally point we're to meet the rest of the fleet at?"

"I think it's time to get some rest." Said the doctor

"No goddamnit! I've been asleep for too long. I need to know what's going on!"

Once again the doctor and the captain exchanged concerned glances.

"Carter." Said Dr. Turner. "The war's over. We won."

"Over?" asked Carter as he furrowed his brow. "How long have I been out?"

"It's 2556 Carter." Said the doctor. "The war ended four years ago."


	3. Unanswered Questions

The day's reports were backed up on holo pad of Dr. Miranda Turner in her sparsely decorated office as she began to review each of the files. The only decorations were a picture of her mother and father and a 20th century wind up monkey that sat on her desk in the clean white room.

She pulled the first report on top sent to her of the day and began to read it as Captain Huang came into her office.

"I thought I locked that door." She said without looking up from her report

"Fringe benefit of being the Captain of the ship." He said as he sat down. "We need to talk about Carter."

"In due time. We do have other patients on this ship that are in worse condition on top of the little scare we had earlier this week."

"And ONI wants to clear him for duty."

"ONI can wait."

"We're fighting a war…"

"Oh bloody hell. When haven't we fought a war over the past 50 years? Tell the spooks to sod off. The man just woke up from a coma." She said as she tossed the holo pad on the table.

"The man is a Spartan and we need him. Badly."

"You don't think I know that? He's got a lot to adjust and if we push him too hard he's not going to be good to anyone!"

Captain Huang was about to speak up when he heard a coughing sound come behind him. He turned to see a small apparition of the ships A.I. Zoe standing on a nearby table, appearing dressed as in white doctors coat over a yellow dress. Her hair was in long pigtails which made the A.I. look even younger then the age she intended to portray.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt. But I just finished the patients psych evaluation several hours ago." Said the A.I. in her usual calm and soothing voice

"I didn't authorize a psych evaluation Zoe." Said the doctor

"Oh gosh. I got the order from Captain Huang and…oh dear…"

Dr. Turner narrowed her gaze on the Captain as he concentrated on Zoe.

"Is he fit?" Captain Huang asked

"He fits into acceptable range for duty." Responded the A.I. "However I may recommend the Commander get something to eat. He continues to read, obsessively in my opinion, about the last several years. Without rest or food. Gosh his vitals indicate…"

"I'll take care of it Zoe." Said the Dr. Turner

_Office of Naval Intelligence_

_Date: August 30__2552_

_Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Anshu Patel_

_Patient: Carter S-259_

_List of injuries: Major concussion, chest wound, broken legs, broken arm, ruptured spleen, pierced lung, head hemmorage._

_Patient was recovered from a crashed Pelican in the Aszod canyons by civilian evacuations teams on route from the Aszod ship breaking yards. Once stabilized, patient was moved from the Pelican using heavy lift equipment and brought to the UNSC Shock and Awe for evacuation. Immediately the patient was placed in a cryo tube due to the Shock and Awe unable to oversee proper medical attention. _

_Once in safe distance from Reach, patient was transferred to medical station Cadmus where careful…_

Carter put down the glowing holopad and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of sterility bandages. It was the only rest he had allowed himself since he had started his research of the past four years two and a half hours ago. His head swam from the mix of fatigue and effort of absorbing the information of the events of the past four years. It was so much to absorb, especially with the deaths of Noble Team, Fall of Reach, the loss of Kat.

But even with all the information he had read, there was still so many questions that were left unanswered.

"How are you feeling Commander?" said Captain Huang's voice.

"Like I've been asleep for past four years. Ready to get back to active duty." Responded Carter as he opened his eyes.

"How caught up are you?" asked the doctor while checking on his vitals.

"Most of everything after Reach. Captain, there was something I saw earlier on the table. Was that a Flood form?"

"Worse." Said the Captain.


	4. First Date

Bev'em Lorm'ee strode down the hall past, ignoring the stares and whispers of the marines and staff . His nearly 8 foot tall frame was always merely inches away from the ceiling as he tried to step lightly as he could. Those around him often found being near him uncomfortable and rarely did they ever look into his sharply yellow eyes. The sight of his species was often accompanied by dread for years, something which Bev'em could understand. He was a stark contrast with his dark purple, reptilian skin. His mouth especially gave a fearsome appearance as it opened up into four mandibles with rows of razor sharp teeth.

He found it curious to how the humans would assume that due to his towering height above them, that if they spoke softly that he would not hear them. Throughout his entire time amongst humanity, he had heard every possible insult towards his race, the Sanghelli, and bore the brunt of their words as an act of holy retribution from his time as a Sanghelli Ranger and the war he commited against humanity.

He once looked towards the Prophets as his guide, as did rest of the Covenant empire did at one point. They said humanity was a blight upon the galaxy that perverted and desecrated holy artifacts, artifacts left long ago by the ancient Forerunners. Only by eliminating them would the Prophets be allowed to continue to use the Forerunner artifacts to activate the Halo rings, thus allowing the Covenant to transcend this plane of existence.

Never would he have had imagined the Prophets Lies and betrayals, nor would he have imagined that they would have made a terrible mistake activating the Halo arrays, which would have killed all sentient life in the galaxy. Humans were not the enemy of the Covenant at all. But once the war against humanity was over, Bev'em Lorm'ee felt like many in the Covenant, a sense of loss. There was no clear direction now. Where they once relied on the Propehts, now they had nothing to help guide them. Once they were thought of as the chosen race the Forerunners favored but humanity, there one time enemy was the true favored beings the ancient Forerunners they worshiped favored.

The sliding doors of the meeting room opened for him as he ducked under the doorway and entered. Waiting for him was the regular group of Dr. Turner, Captain Huang, and the friendly face of a tiny black woman, Sergeant Walker, the head of security for the ship. But he was most interested in the tall, serious looking blue eyed man with sitting at the table. He was the Spartan. Even among Sanghelli, Spartans are considered dangerous and legendary warriors.

"Commander. This is Bev'em Lor'mee, a member of our security staff and Sanghelli relations Ambassador." Said Sergeant Walker

He watched as Carter's blue eyes narrowed a bit and his shoulders tense up.

"It is an honor to meet you Spartan." Boomed Bev'em's voice.

"Good to see some of your kind is ready to try to atone for the war. I didn't know it was typical to give security clearnace to non-human personel." Replied Carter

The room grew tense as Bev'em nodded at the comment and simply took his seat. It was a rare sight to see aliens serving within the UNSC.

"Take it easy sir. Bev here has more than earned his place among us on the ship." Defended Sergeant Walker. "Ain't no one more I'd like to have on my six then him. What he's doing takes some guts. Not many Covi…I mean Elites want to try to make up for what they did."

"I'm well aware of the situation sergeant. Thank you though."

The lights dimmed as Captain Huang turned on the holographic projector on the table to display the current route they were taking. It glowed an aquatic green as Bev'em looked over at Carter, his blue eyes turning cold and dangerous in the light of the display

"So as most of you know we were contacted by ONI since Commander Carter has recovered and ordered to drop him off at orbital facility _Titan_ near Aegis 9." Updated Huang. "They want the Commander here brought up to speed on the current situation so I've called this meeting so that all of us could relate any vital information we have on the necromorphs. Once we get to _Titan_, the ONI spooks can give you all the black ink stuff."

"I appreciate it Captain. I appreciate it to all of you." Said Carter in his most reassuring voice.

Bev'em could even feel that what he said was genuine as Captain Huang invited him to go first due to his extensive experience with necromorphs.


	5. While You Were Gone

Cool air brushed against Carter's skin as he ran his finger through his hair. It was a full head of hair compared to his normal "high and tight" he had cut since he became a Spartan. His hair was longer then even Kat's hair as he concentrated on the soft, silkiness of it between his fingers, which was a welcome foil to the feeling of uncertainty that plagued him since awakening. He closed his eyes and hoped the answer would come to him.

"So what's the plan Kat?" he said softly

He took another deep breathe while mentally and physically throwing his shoulders back and rising to full height. Turning to walk back into the meeting, Carter nearly bowled over smaller frame of Captain Huang who was standing off to his side as if he was a sudden apparition. Carter took a step back and met the Captain's gaze.

Many thought Captain Huang seemed as if he belonged in the ONI instead of the hospital corp. with his slick backed black hair and his overly neat, pressed manner. His looks were more sharp and striking and slightly unsettling, like a man who was used to getting his way.

"Oh. Excuse me Captain Huang."

"It's fine Carter. We're you speaking to someone?" asked Captain Huang as his serious dark eyes carefully scrutinized the taller Spartan like he was a test subject.

"No. It's been a…"

"…an adjustment? Understandable but we're still not done with the meeting." He interrupted with a smile "I know it's been difficult but you've been handling the change well. If there's anything you need…"

"…I need to know how ONI can justify placing necromorphs on a medical ship for transport without proper security measures and how it managed to escape."

"That's classified and we had it all in hand."

"One Elite and a small squad of hazop marines is hardly a secure contingency." Said Carter as he narrowed his cold blue eyes

"It was enough to contain it and there were no casualties. Either way it's irrelevant since I'm in command until ONI fucking reinstates you." Responded the shorter man against the Spartan

A long beat of silence passed between the two men as they stared each other down when a red alert alarm rang out.

"Captain to the bridge. Captain to the bridge." Said a male crewman's voice

The two officers exchanged a taciturn agreement to put the argument aside and rushed towards the bridge.


	6. Incoming

The bridge of the _Mercy_ was a tightly compact space, even for a Frigate as Carter had to duck under the doorway. In the center of the room was the table projector with four crew members with surrounding it each with a lighted holo keypad. All crew members were buzzing in the darkened bridge. The small transparent figure of Zoe appeared in front of the men on the holo projector.

"We have two contacts that appeared on screen. A type-61 Albatross drop ship and a Pelican. Currently hailing but the Albatross is the only one that's responded." Said the A.I.

"What's the response?" asked Captain Huang

"It's scrambled sir. Can't make out a clear signal. Sensors indicate the Albatross has sustained heavy damage." Said the brown haired communications officer

Carter looked at the 3D holo projection of the ships as he assessed the situation.

"What are two ships doing in the middle of nowhere?" Carter asked

"I don't know. But get ready to intercept." Ordered Captain Huang

"Aye sir. Oh dear! Oh gosh! It looks as if the Pelican is firing on the Albatross." Said Zoe

Carter and Huang looked over to the holo projector as the more nimble Pelican made an attack run at the Albatross, raking the rear hull with its guns.

"Order them to stop crewman. Ready the weapons." Ordered Huang again

"I think you should also ready some marines to board." Said Carter

The captain looked over to Carter and for a moment, Huang looked as if he was about to order the Spartan off the bridge.

"Agreed. Do it Zoe." Huang said

"Sir, the Pelican still isn't responding." Zoe responded

"Fire a warning shot as soon as we're in weapons range." Said Captain Huang again as he took a seat at his captains chair.

The Pelican swerved off from attacking the Albatross and turned towards the _Mercy_ at full speed.

"Have they lost it?" asked Carter

"Pelican isn't breaking off. It's in weapons range now sir!" yelled the weapons crewman as the bridge became tensely silent.

"Fire warning shots."

A broken line of plasma fire grazed across the top side of the Pelican as it began to grow dangerously larger in the window of the bridge undeterred in it's course.

"Fire again. Cripple it!" yelled Huang

Carter with his enhanced vision could begin to make out the long platinum blonde hair of the woman piloting the ship. Another long line of plasma shot out and hit the drop ship. An explosion of metal and fire errupted from it's side as it continued it's course.

"Close the blast covers!" yelled the Carter

The humming of machines filled the air as two metal plates began to close over the windows like a slow moving eyelid. But blast covers were only half closed as the cockpit of the Pelican exploded into the bridge


	7. Aftermath

Carter felt a thousand cold needles in his forearms as he lay behind the holo table. He remembered the crash as years of training kicked in, reminding Carter to fight the urge to hold his breath from the escaping air and looked for any secured object to hold onto.

"COMMANDER! PLEASE EXIT THE BRIDGE! THE DOOR IS OPEN BEHIND YOU!" screamed Zoe's voice through the ships speakers

He carefully got to his feet, grabbing the holo table projector, he looked around to see the darkened bridge draped in a hellish red glow from the emergency lights. The Pelican was a mess of mangled metal jammed in between the bent blast covers like a snake trying to force into a burrow. The gap allowed the air to escape, taking any items that weren't secured with it.

While taking shallow breathes, Carter surveyed for any survivors but the only crew member left was the brown haired communications crewman, who was now pinned to her chair by a long warped metal rod in her chest at an odd angle. To his horror, he could see her unraveling intestines whipping in the wind through a large slash in her bloody belly, before the force of the vacuum tore it out of her and into the void of space.

"COMMANDER! I CAN READ NO OTHER LIFESIGNS! PLEASE EXIT THE BRIDGE!" pleaded Zoe

"FUCK!" cursed Carter to himself

The Spartan turned and pulled himself slowly into the hallway. Once he was safe, Zoe sealed the doors behind him as Carter sat against a wall taking heavy gulps air. He cursed the fact that he was out of shape by Spartan standards. His augmented muscles still had an advantage against normal humans but anything beyond that he would have trouble with.

"Please stay here Commander. I have nurses arriving shortly." Zoe's voice calmly directed

It was now he felt a warm growing sting on his forehead. He reached up and touched the area then looked at his fingertips to see them covered in blood. Carter checked the rest of his body to notice the jagged pieces of shrapnel dug into his bloodied forearms. Sensations of pain flowed into his nerves as the adrenaline wore off while footsteps pounded down the hallway towards him.

"Commander! Are you hurt sir?"

Carter turned to see Sergeant Walker with assault rifle in hand while flanked by two nurses.

"Just got the wind knocked out me. Can't say the same for bridge crew or the captain." said Carter while two nurses kneeled down to tend to him

"What happened sir?"

"Head on collision with a Pelican who wanted to get a closer look at the bridge."

Sergeant Walker's face turned to sadness and bitter anger. Carter knew the look on her face and what she wanted to do. He needed to keep her focused to prevent any rash actions

"Sergeant…I need…" said Carter as he rose to his feet, ignoring the nurses "…need…a…"

A nauseous feeling came over Carter as the world began to tilt and spin. He tried to brace himself back against the wall but slipped off and fell face first onto the floor. Ghostly distant voices echoed as he slipped into darkness.


	8. Deja Vu

"Please follow my finger Commander." Said Dr. Turner while panning the skyward pointing index finger left and right

"I appreciate your duty doctor but I'm fine now." He protested as he sat on an exam table.

Dr. Turner continued to examine Carter's icy blue eyes for any signs of damage as a nurse secured bandages to Carters forearms.

"You know, I've never had a patient be so troublesome. You're ruining all the hard work we did to keep that handsome face in one piece." She joked with a warm smile "Don't Spartan's ever smile?"

"The boarding party doctor will be back soon." He responded dryly

"Relax Spartan. I'm happily married. Just want you to relax. And I'm sure Ensign Shields is capable of commanding in your absence."

"All due respect to the Ensign but his experience is in electronics. Not combat and as the senior ranking officer it's…"

"…it's important to make sure you don't pass out again. It's not easy dragging a 6'8, 250 lb. super soldier. Besides, you're not fully reinstated." She retorted as she put her finger down satisfied. The doctor moved to the holographic projector that currently displayed the scans of Carter's skull

"You're still going to need all the help you can get whether I'm reinstated or not."

"A true busman's holiday." Said the doctor through her British accent "I bloody well ought to sedate you. First you awake from a coma to go straight into another concussion with cuts, bruises and shrapnel."

The angelic image of Zoe appeared on the nearby table. Carter could make out the animated lines of numbers running across her form like all A.I.'s as she cleared her throat to make her presence known to the doctor.

"Go ahead Zoe." The doctor said without breaking away from her task

"The boarding party has returned from the Albatross freighter and Ensign Shields is currently requesting the Commander's assistance."

With a sigh, Dr. Turner looked over to Carter who met her gaze.

"I promise to come back if there are any problems doctor." He said

"Go. It's not like I can stop a Spartan, no matter how much of a git you're turning out to be." Responded Dr. Turner "But come back the instant I tell you to."

Carter smiled as he got off the table and through the door.


	9. Isaac

The sharp yellow eyes of Bev'em Lorm'ee met Carter as he walked through the door to the brig. His long arched neck stuck out and with his angled head shape, gave him the look of a predatory bird sitting on a perch while dressed in his dark blue Sanghelli flight harness minus the helmet. It nearly made Carter attack the Elite until he remembered that they were on the same side.

"Where's Ensign Shields?" interrogated Carter

"He is currently working on re-routing and repairs. Sergeant Walker is currently recovering the bodies of those who died on the bridge accident. I was a part of the team that went aboard freighter _Ishimura_ and assisted in recovery." Responded the Elite in his deep booming voice

The two stared at each other for a long, tense moment as Carter milled the answer in his mind. Eventually he nodded and the two walked down towards the brig as maintenance crews ran past them.

"So what did you find aboard the freighter?"

Bev'em handed Carter a holo pad that contained video of the boarding party. The darkened freighter looked more like a killing floor then a transport ship with rotting, twisted inhuman limbs spread over the main storage deck. Black streaks of plasma lined the walls that signaled a fierce battle had occurred.

"Dismembered Necromorphs. All of them were severed with what looks to be plasma based weapons. Hardly any bullet casings. Once we secured the area we discovered the pilot, a lone survivor. He identified himself as an engineer." Said Bev'em

"Nice handy work for an engineer. Was he hurt?" Responded Carter

"No. The biggest mystery was harness the engineer was wearing. It looked like neither human or Covenant. Almost like a Holy Relic."

"You mean he's a Forerunner?"

"I do not know Spartan." Said the Elite solemnly

Both stopped in front of a jail cell flanked by two Masters at Arms who saluted. Carter returned the salute and looked into the cell where an athletic looking man sitting on a bench facing the wall. He was dressed in a dark, skin tight suit with various straps, electronic nodes and thin plates with a heavy piece chest piece that jutted out. Carter didn't recognize the armor type but from the configuration, he could see the components covered vital areas of the body, meaning it maybe a combat suit. Between his shoulders was a metal hump that contained a glowing aqua blue line, its purpose remained a mystery.

Only the man's face was exposed. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties. His hair was cut close all around with a slight gray tint to it. Dark half circles sat beneath his tired intelligent eyes. To Carter, the man didn't seem to have the look of an ONI agent and seemed much more of a plain looking civilian. The stranger got up and walked over to the energy barrier that separated them when he saw the pair.

"I got it from here. Dismissed."

The two guards turned and walked out, leaving only Carter and the Elite standing in front of the cell. He looked over at the Sanghelli who stared back at him.

"Thanks for the escort. I'll call for you if I need you." Said Carter in the most diplomatic voice he could muster for a former enemy

"Actually Spartan, I am under orders from Sergeant Walker and Ensign Shields to be here for the interrogation. Ensign Shields thought his harness maybe of ONI origin, which is why he called you."

"Well I'll be sure to fill them in. What this man has to say maybe sensitive information. You're dismissed. I'll let you know if I need you." Carter commanded firmly

Bev'em lowered his head and moved closer to Carter. Narrowed blues eyes returned the look of defiance the Elites issued to him. Bev'em leaked a low almost inaudible growl as his dark purple mandibles twitched. Carter relaxed his body, taking deep breathes as he readied himself in case of a fight.

"I would not be so reckless where you tread Spartan. Even my patience has limits. You may not trust me but there are those who do and I will not dishonor them." Growled the taller Elite

With a grunt, Carter relented and turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

"How are you feeling?" asked Carter

"Like I've been run over by a truck. Thanks for the pick-up but can you fucking let me out of here now? I'm not a damn threat and I'm not infected. And we're losing time." He answered

"What's going on?"

"We have to get to the _Titan _station!"

"Let's slow down now. What's your name?" asked Carter

"My name is Isaac Clarke. I'm a CEC engineer. I came from ONI platform _Titan _off Aegis 9."

"We'll see about letting you out Isaac but you need to give us some answers to what's been going on."

"Please we don't have time!" yelled Isaac desperately "I'm sorry about what happened with the Pelican earlier but that wasn't my fault."

"We'd like to help but I'm not going to put anymore in danger until we get some answers."

Isaac's head dropped down to his chest as he closed his eyes. He took several deep calming breaths before re composing himself and looking back to Carter and the Elite. The look in his eyes reminded Carter of Troopers and Marines who had seen too many battles with not enough rest in between but still wouldn't quit.

"A year ago the CEC was mining the surface of _Aegis _9 when we were attacked by Sentinels like on the Halo rings. They managed to destroy them and continue mining when we found some Forerunner relics." Explained Isaac

"Finding the holy relics is not so uncommon." Said Bev'em

"These were." Said Isaac "What we dug up could give us an advantage against the necromorphs. Put them away forever."


	10. Need To Know

"You speak of impossible words engineer." Said Bev'em solemnly leaning his tall angled head lower to look at Isaac through the energy field "Where the abomination has…"

"Let's hear what he has to say first." Said Carter as he cut the Sanghelli off.

Isaac took that as his cue as he pressed a button on his forearm that suddenly projected an image of two tall, dark twisting spires that rose towards the sky. It looked to Carter like dueling black, pointed tongues that were twisting around each other with markings vertically etched into it. The tower certainly looked of alien origin considering that it looked nothing like any human or Covenant designs he had ever seen. However the spire unsettled the Spartan. Carter had seen several Forerunner artifacts during his tours of duty but where as those artifacts looked bright, angular and clean, this one looked foreboding and almost angry and other worldly.

"This is our ticket to controlling the Necromorphs. Several months ago we found something on the surface. ONI ended up coming in and their eggheads came down to look at it. Eventually they built the station so they could bring it up and study it. The scientists called it the Marker. After sometime they found out it was created by the Forerunners and that it was a way that they could control them. We could make them do anything we wanted them to do."

"That'd be one hell of a cavalry. A trooper falls in battle, becomes resurrected to be still combat effective."

"A desecration of honorable warriors is what it is, turning them into unfit mongrel bastards." Commented Bev'em with a hiss

"How is this possible Isaac? How does it work?" asked Carter

"Sorry but I don't know. It wasn't the project I was working on. Everything was going well until we came under attack from Insurrectionists who took control of the Marker. Apparently we had some sleeper agents on our crew that knocked out communications and infected our station A.I. In the chaos the Innies got control of the Marker and unleashed the Necromorph test subjects on us. Almost everyone on the station was wiped out or turned into one of them. Only a handful of survivors were peppered all over the station."

"So what you're wearing is what I'm assuming what got you off the station." Said Carter as he and Bev'em quickly scrutinized the alien looking armor that clung to Isaac's form once more

Isaac abruptly turned the projector of the Marker off as he let out a breath and broke his gaze. For a long moment he looked around the cell, not looking Carter or Bev'em in the eyes.

"Isaac." Said Carter softly. "I understand what you were working on was top secret but I need to know everything before we can commit to going into such a dangerous situation, especially if we're talking about necromorphs."

A moment of silence passed as Carter could see the conflict brew in Isaac.

"Damn it. Alright. When they found the Marker…they… hell with it, we found some Forerunner battle harnesses as well. They were old and damaged. Things were so advanced I don't think we could repair it if we wanted to but we could reverse engineer some of it. So that's what we did and once that was done, we then combined it existing technology from the Mjlonir and Covenant tech and well…made this." Said Isaac as he turned his palms upwards to show them what he was wearing with a slight smile of pride.

"What's it called?"

"It's called a RIG, short for Resource Integration Gear. It's an advanced prototype right now with a bunch of abilities such as functioning in a vacuum. I was among five people in a group of survivors. With us was Colonel Hammond, in charge of _Titan_ operations and security. He gave the order for me to put on the RIG and get it as far away from the Innies as possible since we lost the Marker. Hammond tried to issue the self destruct command but we lost Vandal, our A.I. so we couldn't use the self destruct so Hammond and the rest of the group of the security group were going to fight their way to the power core and try to blow it. That was the last I heard from them before I got shipped out."

"And who was the woman attacking you? We're under the assumption that she was an Insurrectionist." Said the Elite

"You're probably right. I didn't even know she was following me until she started shooting at me. I'm just an engineer. Look I know it sounds weird but I'm telling you everything that's the truth."

A moment of silence passed as the Spartan and the Elite carefully gauged the information that they were just told. It seemed a lot of information to process and would take time to reach command for verification. Carter wasn't even sure if the _Mercy_ was able to make it to the _Titan_ station let alone have enough troops to make an assault.

"Look man, I don't know if they succeeded but it's not likely. I went through hell to escape and bring help so maybe we can help them so we have to go back." Pleaded Isaac

"Sit tight Isaac. I understand it's hard but even if we could, it might take awhile to see where our repairs are at. Meantime just sit tight and take a breather. We'll do what we can. Do you need anything else?" said Carter reassuringly

"A sandwich and a bottle of whiskey." Responded Isaac as he returned to his seat and leaned back, practically melting out of exhaustion as he gave a chuckle.

Carter smiled at Isaac over the small joke. The engineer reminded him of Noble Six in a way. It made the Spartan take a long deep breath of air into his lungs as he tried to push out the feeling of guilt.

"We shall send some food over. Meanwhile, it is best to get as much rest for any upcoming battles." Said Bev'em "You have proven your worth in defeating such abominations with honor. We may need you."

With that, Carter and the Elite turned and headed out the door as the two guards waiting patiently outside turned and saluted once more before turning and heading back into the brig to continue their watch. As the door closed, Carter waited a moment before speaking as to make sure no one else was listening. But the silence also served to help Carter find the will to speak to the Elite standing next to him as an ally since sight of the tall purple alien stirred atrocities from the war that rolled around inside him like a piece of burning charcoal. War was over though and they were on the same side now.

"What do you think of our guest?" asked Carter, trying not to make his voice sound too forced.

"A truly honorable warrior in the face of such monsters. I do believe he in need of rest."

"I meant, do you trust him? Something about all this feels off. I thought Insurrectionists we're wiped out."

"Some do survive still. But your question is I do trust him." Said the Elite with a proud assurance

Carter let the new information sink in his head as the only sound that stood by them now was the hollow echoing of their footsteps on the cold metal floor. The sound mirrored the new information bouncing around Carters brain as he tried to catch each thought to properly process it but to no avail. He felt on edge since the crash and the wounds on his forearms were beginning to ache fiercely again as the duo made their way to engineering.


	11. A Distant Fire

The world was painted in a green tint of night vision through the visor of his Mjlonir commando armor as Carter carefully scouted through the hills. He recognized the lush foliage and grass crushing under his feet as the area near Visegrad Relay, the site of Noble Team's first mission when the fall of Reach began. Carter's training kicked in as his eyes carefully scanned the area for any hostiles or traps waiting for him before moving onto the next area, all the while following all his physical reactions were second nature to him, drilled into him through years of experience and training. He looked at his motion for movement while carefully and quickly moving from one area of cover to another under a tapestry of stars dotting the sky overhead. If he wasn't on duty, he'd enjoy the beauty of the sight above him but right now that was a luxury.

But everything about this was wrong. They investigated Visegrad in the daytime, not night and Noble Team was with him the entire time. Before he had a chance to give any more thought to what the situation, a column of plasma cut through the air and down into a hill a kilometer away. The impact rumbled the ground under his feet as the massive beam of destructive light suddenly cut out, leaving a crater where inside sat a tall glowing tower that was the only source of light on the darkened valley. Carter was blinded at the intensity of the light which caused him to shut off his night vision and close his eyes. After he recovered his vision, he took his Designated Marksman Rifle and raised the scope up to his eye and zoomed in to see to get a better look at the object and to his surprise; it was the Marker from the picture Isaac had shown him.

It stood there at full height with fire surrounding it. Each of the symbols on the Marker was glowing hotly in white, contrasting against the black stone of its skin. Carter couldn't believe his eyes as each of the symbols seemed to slither over the Marker in a hypnotic waving pattern causing him to blink several times to regain his focus. But this time while looking through the scope he saw a lone figure standing in front of the burning Marker and looking into the night sky. Instantly he recognized the form as someone in Spartan armor but could not make out any other details since they were distorted by the light of the Marker.

Carter was about to radio the other Spartan when he began to hear a eerily shaking woman's voice singing a song he recognized from his childhood.

"_Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are."_

"This is Noble One. Spartan 259. Please respond." He commanded

"_Up above a world so high, like a diamond in the sky. "_

The singing gave Carter the feeling of being hunted but he could not see any motion or signs of an attack anywhere around him. His heart began to beat harder against his chest as he began to hesitate. Desperately his mind told him to run and hide, to find some safety but there were no areas to hide. A sudden feeling of loneliness over took Carter at that moment as he gave a quick curse to himself as the desperate urge overtook him. He felt he needed to find out who the Spartan was in the hopes that it maybe someone he knows and that he could find some safety. Appearing from behind his cover, he did another careful scan of the area before running at full speed towards the figure with all his effort.

"_Then the traveler in the dark, Thanks you for your little spark. He could not see which way to go, if you did not twinkle so. "_

Calling over the radio again while closing the distance, Carter was only greeted with the song that was being sung to him like a macabre private concert. His footsteps slowed down to a brisk jog once he was close enough to the Spartan when he saw the figure had a robotic right arm with sky blue colored armor. He froze in his tracks as he took off his helmet at the realization that the Spartan might be someone he knows.

"Kat! Kat is that you!" he called out

"_In the dark blue sky you keep, and often through my curtain peep. For you see with your blue eyes, Spartans always have to die!"_

Kat turned around as Carter saw her visor had a hole blown out through it. Instantly the memory of her death came flooding back to him as panic and shock set in. The spider web of cracked bloody glass extended out from the black hole in the center of the large visor to Carter terrors. The other Spartan moved towards him as Carter could see chunks missing from the armor that now exposed rotting pale flesh. Kat's robotic arm, once clean and sterile was now a mess of broken jagged metal and rust as twisted metallic fingers reach out for him.

Carter began to back away as all warmth fell from his body, leaving a cold numbness to set in. Every ounce of blood fell away from his face, legs and arms and seemed to pool into an icy core at his belly.

"Why Commander? Why? WHY! CARTER! MAKE US WHOLE!" she howled as she leaped towards him

A racing heartbeat greeted Carter as he awoke in the tiny dark officer's quarters. Kicking off the covers instantly as if they were attacking him, Carter sat up in his small bed and concentrated on his breaths to slow his heart rate. His body was in full panic mode as he felt fatigue course through him, tingling the ends of his toes and fingers and dulling his senses. Looking over at the time, Carter could see that he had been asleep for exactly twenty minutes. It was fifteen minutes less than the last night.

"Fuck. Godfucking damnit." He cursed quietly.

To make matters worse, this was the fifth time he had this same dream about Kat and the Marker. He could understand why Kat was there. One of the burdens of leadership was always guilt for failing to bring someone back alive for him. But as for the Marker, he couldn't understand its significance or why it was in his dreams.

"So what's the plan Kat?" he asked while closing his eyes. "God I wish you were here right now to tell me."

Carter felt as if his body had been running on high gear for the past several days at a non-stop pace and nothing he did slowed it down. He ran his hand over his newly cut hair, feeling the stubble roughly rub back against his hand and enjoyed the breathability. After a moment of silence, Carter lowered himself chest first onto the floor and began a set of push-ups. The strain felt good as it gave him something else to concentrate on instead of the constant fatigue and stress.

"Commander. So sorry but please come in Commander." Said Zoe's disembodied voice

"This is Carter. What's the situation?"

"We've arrived at _Titan _platform Commander."

"On my way."

The shuttle bay buzzed with activity as the Sergeant Walker and her team loaded up a Pelican with all the provisions and weapons they could think they need. It was a welcome change of pace over traveling through slipspace the past several days as the crew seemed more on edge. Like Carter, there were reports of nightmares, insomnia, depression and even hallucinations by some patients. It ran the medical staff ragged as well as security since those were all signs that signaled a necromorph outbreak, although the inspection of the ship showed no signs of possible infection or activity. All of it left the entire crew on edge as the ship was completely out of medication to deal with the problem.

Carter was nearby looking over the enhanced footage of _Titan _station that hung in the orbit of Aegis like a large looming bird of prey. All the lights were on and still functioning, giving the appearance from the outside that everything was fine.

"We're all loaded up sir and I've gathered everyone." Said Sergeant Walker from behind Carter

"Thank you Sergeant." Said Carter as he turned around to face the small platoon of marine. He had memorized all from personnel files over the past sleepless nights. Each of them looked as tired as he was.

"Alright people. I wish we got more time to know each other but already I can tell you're among the best of the best. You all have my confidence. And if I get killed, then I'm sure it'll be the Navy's fault."

The Marines laughed at the joke, easing the tension among them. Carter smiled as he turned on the holo projector that held the image of the Marker

"All jokes aside, this is a Forerunner artifact called The Marker. It's supposed to be able to control the necromorphs. It was stored on the station for research when Insurrectionists, who were posing as ONI staff, attacked and took over the Marker. They compromised the station A.I. and knocked out the communications."

Carter paused for a moment to let the information sink in and to allow the marines to whisper to each other. He then changed the picture of a bald, serious looking black man.

"This is Colonel Hammond. He was in charge of the station security at _Titan_. From the intel we have, the last he was seen was a couple of days ago leading a team towards the power core of the station. With the station A.I. compromised, he was to blow the core up in an effort to prevent the Marker and any ONI data from falling into enemy hands. All of you can see that the station's still up so we can assume that Colonel Hammond wasn't successful in his effort unfortunately."

"Sir. So our mission has changed? Has ONI approved all this sir?" asked Rodriguez, a tall muscular looking marine.

"We did get in touch with ONI and their closest ship is still three days away in slipspace. Right now we're the cavalry folks since we were headed there anyway. This is a search and destroy op. Find the Innies and take back the Marker. If we can't do it then we blow the station."

The marines faces lit up at the words "search and destroy." Carter knew that they had been on edge since the attack and we're in desperate need to vent their frustrations and see some action. However as always, the plan had a catch.

"The _Mercy_ will stay back here for logistical and medical support out of gun range. Meanwhile we get to have the fun trying to slip into the station and pray the Innies haven't gotten the defense's working to blow us out of the sky. Get ready people. I know it's a hard mission but I wouldn't do it if I thought I didn't have the right marines to help me. Dismissed"

Sergeant Walker turned to face Carter as the crew went back to work

"Do you think we have enough people to stage such an attack?" she asked with the worried eyes.

"Wouldn't be one of my missions if it was easy."


	12. Action On The Titan

The Pelican sailed through the dark sea of space carefully towards the station while Carter sat behind the pilots in the front of the ship. Almost all inside stayed deathly silent except for a lone male voice muttering a quiet prayer as they waited for any sign that the station's defensive guns may go off and start firing.

Through the canopy of the Pelican, he could finally get an up-close look at the facility. _Titan_ platform was a large behemoth of an ONI platform, the biggest that Carter had ever seen in his life. He guessed the diameter would be at least 7 kilometers and at a height of 9 kilometers. There were various docking bays, defensive guns and launch pads for Sabre's and Longswords all around the platform along with a MAC cannon. The entire facility was covered in a black, stealth coating that Carter recognized that was mainly used for infiltration vehicles on scout and recon missions. _Titan_ looked more like a floating dark castle with its black metal exterior rather than a research facility.

In the Pelican, the crew consisted of Isaac, Dr. Turner (much to Carter's objections), Bev'em in full Sanghelli Ranger armor and the rest of Whiskey Team who was assigned as security transport of the necromorph that they were forced to kill. The tiny form of Sergeant Walker was in charge as her haired was pulled back into her usual bun. Next to her was Sergeant Gabe Weller, a battle hardened second in command. The one saying the prayer was Private Rodriguez, heavy weapons expert. Corporals Franco Delille and Isabel Cho were the teams close quarter's specialists and lastly was Private McNeill, hazardous operations specialist.

Isaac's story so far still had Carter worried. There were no signs of a firefight on the outside of the station. No blast marks on the side of the walls or any wreckage of a dogfight. The turrets seemed as if they had even been fired. But he had to wait to see what scene waited from them on the inside.

"Whitney please baby. Mommy said she's coming home but not now." Said the co-pilot as she monitored the radar

"Lt. Vincent, is everything alright?" asked Carter disconcertingly

"She talks to the ship sir when she's nervous." Said Lance Corporal Sam Caldwell, the pilot of the Pelican

"I can do my job sir. Just…need….to concentrate." Said Vincent as she tried to hide her shaking left hand from the view of the Spartan

"Spartan. The engineer has news." Said Bev'em

Carter turned behind him and much to his surprise; Isaac's RIG had now spontaneously had a full helmet attached to it. The design of it reminded Carter of an ancient medieval knight's helmet from Earth's history. It had an angled design that bent slightly forward with three slits in the face that were illuminated by a bright blue light that contrasted with the dull metallic coloring of the helmet giving the wearer an inhuman of a robot.

"Where did…"

"It's built into the suit." Said Isaac as the helmet segmented into sections and receded into the chest and back piece of the RIG, leaving everyone to see Isaac's head. "I got in touch with Vandal, the station A.I. She just gave me coordinates on which bay to land in that's safe but we have to move. Vandal says there's a survivor in that launch bay who's badly injured."

"How did you pick up Vandal while the rest of us didn't?" interrogated Carter

"The suit was hard wired to Vandal while testing and gives a boost to pick up signals." Responded Isaac

"Anything else you're keeping from us?"

"Sorry I didn't say anything earlier but I'll tell you my life's story as soon as we land but right now I just lost Vandal and we got a report of an injured guy."

Carter milled the information around in his mind as his instincts told him to be careful.

"Fair enough. Pilot, take us to shuttle bay 3." He ordered

Soon the Pelican rested onto the metal floor of the bay as its loading door opened. Weller and Rodriguez took point as they exited the shuttle dressed in full hazardous operations armor. The rest of the team exited the shuttle with their heads covered by helmets and secured the landing zone. McNeill did a scan for hazardous materials on his tactical pad on his right forearm as the team looked out for any possible threats. Once he was satisfied the area was safe to breath, he signaled for Carter and the rest of the inhabitants to come out of the sealed cockpit.

"No sign of hostile's." echoed Bev'em voice in the large bay

"No signs of anything." Remarked Cho while checking behind a stack of boxes

Every sound seemed to bounce off the walls in the nearly empty bay except a handful of crates and a damaged Sabre sitting in the bay next to the Pelican. Carter scanned the room dressed in modified marine armor armed with a battle rifle. Although grateful to Corporals Cho and Delille for modifying the armor to fit him but never more in his life did Carter crave to have his old commando armor. It gave him the advantages of shields and enhanced his physical capabilities but also the Mjlonir armor was a Spartans second skin and most would feel naked without it. They didn't even have a helmet that would fit him.

"Should I stay with the Pelican or go along with the team?" asked Dr. Turner dressed in her usual medical garb.

"I'd actually you'd rather stay on the _Mercy_ doctor." Said Carter as the wounds on his forearm still ached.

Isaac walked over to the nearest data panel but was stopped short by Private McNeill grabbing his shoulder.

"Slow down Clarke. What are you doing?" asked McNeill

"I thought I could try to hook into the station and contact the A.I."

"First let's make sure there aren't any nasty surprises. Any sign of the survivor?" asked Carter

"I found someone!" yelled Sergeant Walker

Her voice came from behind the wrecked Sabre as everyone ran over to investigate. Carter was the first to arrive as he saw a figure of a lone woman kneeling on the ground dressed in a bloodied CEC shirt. Her back was turned to him and looked as if she was holding her left arm like it was hurt. The woman's head moved erratically in jerk movements that made Carter think that she was in shock. A pool of blood surrounded her as she let out slow, quiet moans of pain. Walker was positioned behind the woman and reached out to touch her shoulder.

"It's going to be ok. You're safe now." Said Walker as she kneeled to the ground to tend to the woman

Walker froze suddenly as she held up her hand in a gesture for everyone to stay back. Dr. Turner and the rest of the group came around the corner to see the survivor but Carter managed relayed the signal for all of them to stop. A whisper of questions buzzed as the crew asked what was going on when the woman turned around.

A chorus of gasps and curses went up as they could see the woman looking at them in bewilderment. Her thin face and haggard eyes held the look of confusion as if she was just made aware of the group's presence. Her mouth was covered in blood as it covered the lower half of her face down to her neck, staining the front of her black uniform a wet darker color. She held the disturbed resemblance of a toddler eating a messy dinner. Her brown hair was matted to her face wildly by blood and sweat as her mouth was left agape, showing dark gaps where some of her teeth should've have been. The woman held onto the base of her broken left forearm near the bicep as the rest of her forearm and hand hung limply loose by the sinewy strands of bleeding black sinews of muscle and stretched skin. Any remaining flesh of her forearm was stripped away as chunks of it lay on the floor in front of her or in between the teeth in her mouth, leaving the jagged spear of white exposed bone in place of the rest of her hand.

"No limbs. No life. No life. No limbs." She said like she was a bewildered child wondering what she had done wrong.

Walker began was in the process of getting to her feet as the woman snapped her head to focus on her with a wild intensity.

"TAKE OFF YOUR LIMBS!" the injured woman screamed as she grabbed her dangling limb and ripped the it off, plunging the sharp jagged end of the broken bone into the side of her neck. "YOU TOOK IT AWAY!

With wide surprised eyes, Walker fired her assault rifle in reaction into the woman's belly as a loud gagging sound escaped the sergeant's mouth. An eruption of her own blood followed soon after as Bev'em lunged forward and grabbed the woman off Walker and tossed her across the bay. The rest of the team opened fire with plasma cutters and rifles woman until lay in chunks on the ground. Carter was already at Walker's side and had his hand pressed against the wound firmly as blood pushed against it trying to escape. Turner had her med bag open and prepped the proper medication to slow the bleeding as the wounded sergeant's wide open eyes stared up at them in shock.

"It's not a Noble mission if someone doesn't die right Commander?" said Kat's voice over Carter's shoulder

Carter whipped his head around to look in the direction of the voice but was only staring at a wall. He scanned around the shuttle bay in a vain effort to find the source of the voice.

"Carter! CARTER!" screamed Dr. Turner "Either get out of the bloody way or let someone else hold the wound you git!"

Carter turned to see Dr. Turner holding Walker's neck with one hand as she tried to push him away with another. Taking the cue, the Spartan got to his feet and backed away as Turner and Delille tended to the downed sergeant.

"Sir. Target has been neutralized. What are our orders?" asked Weller

A low rumbling of whispers scratched at Carters eyes and crawled into the back of his throat like the legs of a spider as he shook his head to regain his composure. He looked over at Bev'em who was on edge as he gripped his plasma pistols tightly and turned his head sharply left and right as if looking for another attacker.

"Demons! You shall not whisper your accursed witchcraft to those among us!" yelled the Elite

"Heh. Havin problems with having your fucking necro cherry popped sir?" chided Weller to Carter. "Don't worry. I'll hold your hand."

"Stay your tongue Weller." Hissed Bev'em "Even you can appreciate a fallen comrade."

"Hey! She ain't dead yet! Just because your kind don't believe in healing your wounded don't mean that…"

"Lock it down both of you!" ordered Carter "Tell the pilots to get ready to take Walker and Turner back to the _Mercy. _The rest of the team is going to…"

Carter was cut off by a series of gunshots coming from within the Pelican. As the team rushed over to investigate as they were met with a stunned looking Corporal Caldwell stumbling out of the back of the ship with a pistol in his hand.

"Drop it Caldwell! Put it down! Put the goddamn gun down motherfucker!" ordered the entire team

The corporal gingerly placed the gun on the floor and pushed it over to the team as Delille secured him. Carter walked into the Pelican and found the lifeless body of Lt. Alissa Vincent draped over the controls of the ship with the right side of her head now a bloody cavity. Splashes of blood were stained the canopy glass along with what Carter recognized as pieces of still fresh brain matter that began to slide down the glass. In Alissa's right hand was a pistol along and in her left was a scrap of paper clutched tightly. Bending down he took the pistol of out her the still warm hand of the co-pilot and sniffed the barrel, the acrid scent telling Carter it was recently fire. He then reached over and opened the scrap of paper to find a photo of a young raven haired girl around the age of 10 smiling at him.

It made Carter pity the poor girl who would never see her mother again but his pity soon turned to confusion as the girl in the picture began to grow sharp long fangs. Her innocent face seemed to melt into an inhuman mask. Eyes turned into dead red globes and the girl hissed at Carter as he crushed the picture in response.

"Keep it together Spartan. You're a soldier." Carter said to himself inside his head as he still held onto the picture. "Weller! I need a sit rep."

"Caldwell saying Vincent attacked him and he shot back in self defense. Bullshit I say. I've known her for three years." Weller responded

"I'm telling you she lost it and attacked me. Lieutenant has been slowly going nuts for the past couple of days. She kept saying she was seeing her little girl everywhere she went. Then she said she had to make a sacrifice to get her back and then she pulled her weapon. I didn't have a choice but to shoot back I swear!" pleaded Caldwell

"I believe him. Let him up." Said Carter as he moved towards Caldwell "Vincent was acting jittery and unstable during the trip over."

"Are you sure sir?" asked Delille

"Positive."

"Cockshit." Muttered Weller under his breath

"As much as I'd love to get into it with you Sergeant, we need to get Walker back to the _Mercy_ for medical care." Answered Carter as he took a step forward to intimidate Weller with his superior size

"I'm…I'm sorry sir but we're not going anywhere. When I…umm…when I fired, a couple of the shots went through the canopy. If I try to leave, the glass will completely crack and explosively decompress and whoever isn't in a suit will won't make it." Explained a shaky Corporal Caldwell

"Perfect." Said Carter

"SIR! SIR! We got movement! Multiple targets are incoming and coming in fast!" yelled Rodriguez


	13. Enemy At The Gate

"Cho and Delille with me to cover the front of the Pelican! Weller take the rest and cover the flank! Isaac! Help Turner get Walker into the ship and shut the door!" ordered Carter as his blood began to pump

"Come on boys! You too Caldwell! Rodriguez get the turret!" ordered Weller

"Me?" said a bewildered Caldwell. "But I'm just a flight jockey."

"Not today. You're on a "whiskey" mission now." Said Delille as he took his position

"Whiskey?" asked the pilot

"Rhymes with "risky." Said Bev'em as he watched intently at a nearby vent

Years of instinct surged comfortably through his muscles along as he clicked the safety off his rifle. Carter felt good to be back in action as his hands molded to the battle rifle. His blue eyes focused on any openings and ventilation shafts as the others in the team took their positions around the ship. The Spartan gave credit to the necromorphs since he heard almost no sounds coming for an assault team that big. He remembered his research, which said that the necrosmorphs had ecology, that they weren't monsters but rather animals and they reacted as such so he'd have to treat them as such.

"What the hell are you doing? Get back in the ship!" screamed Weller

"Making toast. What does it look like?" rang Isaac's voice through his helmet.

"Weller!" said Carter

"Damn engineer won't get behind the turret inside the ship! He's got Walker's rifle!"

"Let him help! By the looks of this, we're going to need all the swinging cods we can throw at them." Said Carter

Suddenly the first a slasher crashed through a nearby vent and charged towards him with its long reaper-like blades attached to an extra set of limbs protruding from its shoulders. Its frightful face was a twisted mess. The skin that once covered its face was now peeled back like a banana, exposing the meat and nerves underneath with its tongue now split into two parts like a reptiles. The slashers main body was still mostly human with his hands and arms still having skin. What unnerved Carter was the fact that the necromorph was still dressed in an engineer's orange jump suit.

"Tighten up around the ship!" yelled Carter

Soon every member of Whiskey Team was battling waves of slashers along with tiny crawling frog like necromorph classified as swarmers. The crack of rifles and plasma cutters filled the air followed by the eerily human like squeals of dying necromorphs. As Carter cut the creature in front of them to pieces with his weapon, several more thin lanky slashers emerged from the vent and charged towards them with their particular swinging gait.

"Carter." Came a whispered voice behind him

Carter stopped and turned to see who was calling him but saw that there wasn't anybody at all. A shock ran through his skull behind the back of his eyes as his vision blurred and changed color at a disorienting pace, nearly bringing him to his knees. A throng of hollow whispers echoed in his head and dug into him like a million burning needles as the images of dead Spartans under his command appeared in front of him. Each of them stared at him with black pools for eyes while tears made of blood poured down their cheeks.

"Gah! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" screamed Delille

Taking all his focus, Carter was able to force the world back into the right perspective as he looked back towards Weller, who was on the ground wrestling with a slasher on top of him as he jerked his head to the left to keep from being bitten. Carter fired his assault rifle as he charged towards the necromorph and kicked its head, sending it flying across the room. His next kick pushed the remains off Delille as he reached down to help him up.

"Incoming!" screamed Delille and pointed behind him

Carter turned to see a legless slasher raising its claw to sever his leg when several splashes of plasma bolts ripped the creature apart. Bev'em came across to cover the two men as Weller regained his footing.

"Delille! Are you injured?" the Elite asked as he laid down suppressing fire

"I'm fine." He answered "But it looks like we got some new friends."

All three turned to see two leapers bounding out of the vent at an alarming speed with their split open heads giving way to several jaw-like appendages attached to their wide maws, each with their own set of knife like teeth. Their bodies were twisted even more then the slashers with overly long powerfully built arms and shoulder helping to propel them forward along with exposed hardened spines. They no longer had legs but instead it their lower bodies and internal organs were fused into a tail with elongated sharp barbs that may have once been feet and nails.

The leapers leapt in separate directions on the bay as they deftly dodged plasma lines and gunfire by bounding off the floor, walls and the Pelican. Isaac watched as his rifle's ammo counter dwindled down to zero right as a leaper landed in front of Corporal Caldwell and slashed deeply half way into the pilot's thigh. Caldwell fell to the floor screaming in pain as his own warm blood flowed onto the floor. The leaper jumped onto of the downed pilot but Carter grabbed it by its tail and swung it with all his strength into the air and bashed it onto the ground with a heavy wet thud. Isaac watched as the Spartan, still holding onto the wildly twitching tail, swung the leaper again but into the side of the Pelican this time and caused it to explode into chunks from the force of the impact.

"Rodriguez! Torch the vent!" screamed Weller

Carter looked over to see Rodriguez shooting a stream of fire into a nearby vent. All around were pieces of rotted severed body parts and blood slicked puddles. With the exception of Caldwell, the rest of the team made it through without any injury. But it still left Carter shaken as the adrenaline from the fight stayed inside him with the acid of fatigue. The horrific images of all the Spartans who died under his command was still burned into his mind as he opened the door to the Pelican

"Doctor. I think you're needed." He said

"Oh bloody hell." Dr. Turner muttered as she peered out at the landscape of dead necromorphs

"Bloody's right. Caldwell down. I think the cut's almost all the way to the bone." Said Carter as he grabbed the Pelican's first aid kit

Caldwell lay deathly still as he took shallow breathes. Turner bent down next to him as half of Whiskey team bent around him in concern. A pool of blood began to surround Caldwell as Carter watched Delille tie the strap of his rifle above the gash in Caldwell's thigh.

"AHHHHH! GOD! FUCK! Please doc….please don't let me lose my leg." Said Caldwell as hands gripped tightly into fists

Carter opened the kit and handed Turner the canister of bio-foam. He wasn't sure if the pilot was going to live as he contemplated what his next move was going to be. The two injured marines were cursed to die slow deaths without being able to reach the medical ship soon. Both were struggling to stay alive and both combined would be barely to fight one necromorph let alone a horde of them.

"Vandal? Vandal?" asked Isaac loudly as he had his hand next to his helmet

"Umm…has our guide lost it?" asked Rodriguez

"No. I think I got Vandal finally. Hold on." Said Isaac as the chest piece on his suit suddenly projected the A.I.

It took everyone by surprise to see the image of a small boy around the age of eight pop out in front of them. A.I.'s have taken a variety of forms from women, men, and sometimes shapes but never has one choose the form of a small boy. Vandal's look had the physical characteristics of any other A.I. with the ghostly blue transparent appearance along with the scrolling set of numbers. Vandal was dressed in a t-shirt with the word Peng across his chest along with a button up shirt over it. He wore a pair of shorts and sneakers and a pair of sunglasses on his brow.

"Isaac. Holy shit. You don't know what….whoa…is that a fucking Spartan?" asked Vandal as he eyed Carter with fascination.

"Well…when I bring help I really bring help." Responded Isaac as he smiled at Carter

"Who are you guys talking to?" asked Caldwell as he looked up

"Easy marine. Just the station A.I. Vandal, what's the status of Hammond's team? Is the marker still on board the station?" asked Carter as he stepped forward.

"I…I don't…see…" said Caldwell as he suddenly passed out

"I lost track of Hammond's team when they went near the med bay in sector 2. The power core connectors are damaged so every time I try to access that area, I end up getting scrambled." Said Vandal as his image flickered as if there was interference. "Marker's still here but there are too many necros guarding it is all I know. Sorry guys."

"It's alright Vandal. I already have it covered." Said Carter as Whiskey Team looked over at him. "Necromorphs are animals and they'll act like them. So all an animal needs is the right bait and they'll come running."

The team looked over at him as their eyes lit up. Carter loved those moments where he would build upon the team's confidence with a plan.

"What's the plan sir?" asked Weller

"If we led a frontal assault against the Marker, we'd be torn to bits. Now the Innies probably know we're here so let's let them know where we're going." Said Carter as the team exchanged confused looks. "We split in two teams half of us go for the power core and make a hell of a ruckus along the way so they have to send the necromorphs after us."

"So while that team tangles with all the necros, the other team goes in for the Marker. If one side fails, you either blow it or take the Marker or we all just get torn to shreds. Just might work." Said Weller.

"If you don't get killed along the way…" said Isaac

"Well…" said Carter "…it wouldn't be one of my missions if it was easy."


End file.
